Smith's Dining Services has recently decided to put nutritional information, including calories, fat, protein, carbs, sodium, and allergy information, on their menu website.
Bluntly, I think this is stupid, and reflects that Dining Services is deeply out of touch with the unfortunately high portion of Smithies that struggle with eating disorders or disordered eating.
So I wrote a mostly polite (while I'd love to have ranted and been more angry, I've learned from past experiences with this sort of thing that it usually doesn't get much done) letter to the editor of the Sophian, Smith's student-run newspaper. We'll see if it runs this week, but here it is below:
As a senior at Smith, I've seen many unfortunate changes take place within our campus and community, many as a result recent budget cuts. Despite this, I adore Smith College, and it pains me when the administration or offices on campus make choices that are out of touch with the needs and desires of the students. Dining Services recent decision to provide nutritional information alongside the online menus strikes me as a choice that, while surely well-intentioned, reflects an ignorance of the type of student body we have.
I've struggled with an eating disorder for nine years, and though recovered now, know many other Smithies who also deal with eating disorders and disordered eating. Although I have no hard facts, my personal estimate is that at least 20% of our campus has had some struggles with this, if not more. It is nearly epidemic. While attempting to fight a mental illness and maintain a real concept of what healthy eating looks like, easy access to calorie counts can be devastating and a real setback. I have no doubt that many of the students dealing with ED on campus can estimate the calories in their food with startling accuracy, but I see no legitimate reason to provide us with the cold hard facts to further enable eating disorders. Even for students who may be trying to lose weight for legitimate health reasons, given Smith's style of dining services, it's hard to make healthy choices if you realize the mac'n'cheese has a bazillion calories, but there's no other real option presented except the salad bar, which does not a dinner make.
I fully support Dining Services in publishing allergy information, ingredient lists, sodium, and the like, and even macronutrients of carbohydrates and protein. Providing this information gives individuals with health conditions the ability to eat with confidence that they won't be adversely affected by their food, and that's great. But to put the fat grams and calorie counts for foods I've eaten, blissfully ignorant of their caloric values, over the past three years seems to be a decision out of touch with the needs of Smith's unique student body. Women already fight an uphill battle in trying to treat their bodies with love and respect, and Smith shouldn't make this any harder than it has to be.
Sincerely,
J.
What're your thoughts about this decision? I for one am currently just not looking on the menus at all, because I know it's dangerous for me the see this kind of information on a regular basis.
Much love,
The Sheriff
ps---I almost signed the letter to the editor as the Sheriff. Over-identification much?
First of all, I'm going to start this response by acknowledging that I am writing from a position of privilege. While my relationship with food is hardly healthy, I have never had to struggle with an eating disorder, although sadly I know too many friends and relatives who have. Your perspective is one that is foreign to me, as I have not had the same experiences that you have had, and I will try my hardest to take your concerns into consideration when considering my own opinion.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I think that while your concerns are understandable, I do not see a serious problem with the actions taken by the Smith dining services. As someone who tries to eat healthy, I found eating in a cafeteria a frustrating process. I wish that my school had offered calorie information so I could have made better decisions. I miss living in New York City because all chains their are forced to provide nutritional info, which is not true in Austin.
That being said, it doesn't seem like they are throwing this information in your face. They are not posting this info in the cafeteria, but rather online, so that you have to go out of your way to access it. There is a difference in temptation for me between a snickers bar at a checkout counter, within plain view and easy reach, and having to go out of my way to get one. You say yourself that you are just not looking at the information, and other students may make the same decision. Obviously, this degree of separation will not stop someone wit an eating disorder, but it will make the temptation less blatant.
There are many things that the Smith dining services and the administration can do to help the student body, including serving healthy, organic food and providing services and information to help prevent and treat the disordered eating epidemic plaguing the Smith campus. However -and I may be wrong- I believe that the benefits of having access to this information outweighs the potential harm it could cause.
If only it were so simple that I could always choose to not look at it. The simple fact of the matter, for myself and so many of the women on this campus with eating disorder, is that there are very real moments when it ceases to be a decision at all. It's an illness and a compulsion, and I find it insulting that it can be so easily chalked up to simply "well if it bugs you, don't look at it."
ReplyDeleteFurthermore, given that eating disorders and obesity (presumably something they are trying to combat by posting calorie counts) have very similar effects on the body (at the extreme ends of either, heart problems, reproductive issues, death), I don't see that this information (specifically calorie and fat counts) serves any real purpose or provides any benefit that simple understanding of nutrition and portions wouldn't already provide. Anyone can understand the basic ideals of healthy eating--it needn't be so exact as "OMG there are how many calories in my favorite dessert that I only eat once a week?!"
--The Sheriff
When I first encountered the new calorie lists for dining services, I too was inflamed with concern for those on campus with an eating disorder. Unfortunately, ED is often brushed aside as something vain and completely controllable. A "they just want to be thinner to look pretty" outlook is completely misguided, ED is deeply psychological and very difficult to control. College campuses nationwide are plagued with ED. Although obesity is a national issue, calorie awareness is not going to significantly help. As a health conscious person, I think that it is pretty useless to have detailed nutritional information about the food served at dining services. A healthy diet includes "high-calorie" items; we need fat to survive. The root of the whole unhealthy eating problem is proportions. This whole calorie counting craze is a trend in health circles, but does it really help? In my experience, living healthy comes from awareness and support from your friends. If dining services wants to promote healthier eating they should encourage eating more leafy greens, and promoting support groups.
ReplyDeleteIn my view, ingredient lists would be much more appropriate than calorie counts. Our current food culture largely reduces what should be a holistic category to basic chemical components, which, although real, do not begin to capture the reality of eating or what it means. Many people do need education about what and how to eat, but humanity has done that for millenia without any knowledge of "nutrients" as such. I for one have found that calorie awareness is all it takes to push me toward unhealthy eating patterns. I prefer to know what went into my food, and I feel that I can make healthy choices based on that without any excessive nutritional analysis.
ReplyDeletePS: In case you were wondering, the nutrition information has not yet been added to the sight, and I imagine that it won't be for a while. (Smith moves slowly on most things...)
ReplyDeleteIf awareness of an "appropriate" portion is a more helpful tool for those who are trying to keep track of what they're eating for healthy reasons (not disordered ones), do you have a suggestion of how this might be done? Maybe little containers alongside each dish that show how much they suggest a person should eat? Or would that just contribute to shaming fat women if they take more than they are "supposed" to?
ReplyDeleteJust to add: I was on a good friendly basis with the dining hall admin at my school (vegan needs) and they were always really awesome and responsive. There was a Dining Services Committee that consisted of reps from the student body, the administration, the dining hall staff, etc which met to talk over issues like the one you're expressing. Two of my vegan friends were the student reps, so they got the staff to make sure they weren't reusing utensils that had been used to cut or serve meat, that they placed the cheese dishes closer to the server than the veggie dishes so that there wouldn't be stray bits of cheese falling in the vegan options, etc. Non-vegans usually just don't think about these things, just as people who haven't had an ED just don't think about things like availability of calorie counts being a problem.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a pretty safe assumption that your Dining Services people are not trying to trigger students with ED- they just have no clue that this is an issue. It might be worth establishing a healthy, ongoing relationship with whoever's in charge so that you (or another friend who knows a lot about ED) can address issues like this before they come up. Hopefully they'll be really grateful for the input.
I honestly do not believe that it is the responsibility of dining services to educate us about portion sizes or "healthy eating," and I think little portion containers would probably be just as harmful as calories (just to a different population of people). I just meant that for the population here interested in eating "healthfully" that would actually want the calorie content (and not abuse it), they could accomplish the same general goals by educating themselves about basic nutrition (how much grains do I need in a day, etc).
ReplyDeleteI know Dining Services is very friendly, and very well-intentioned. I'm sure they have no desire to trigger anyone, but that's why I've said it shows a real ignorance to the population they're working with. I'm planning to write an email to our dining services director, saying many of the same things and asking her to reconsider putting the calorie counts on the site.
--The Sheriff
Hi Jackie! Re: the calorie count situation, I think you're laying the blame on the wrong party. IIRC, a mandate for *all* dining establishments to provide calorie counts on their menus was a provision of the healthcare bill... or it may have been an unrelated rider on some other piece of legislation - but I'm quite sure that's a federal mandate. Many fast food restaurants around the Philly area have already complied.
ReplyDeleteI haven't found any legislature in Mass that requires that, particularly of a dining hall at a private college. But perhaps that's sadly the case.
ReplyDeleteHowever, the way it was announced, it was a choice made by Dining Services specifically to undertake this measure, with no outside pressure to comply with legislature mandating such.
--The Sheriff